[Ecommerce] CNET on IBM expands free access to patents

[Manon Ress]

IBM expands free access to patents
By Dawn Kawamoto
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: October 24, 2005, 7:58 AM PDT

IBM is giving the health care and education industries free access to
its patent portfolio, the company said Monday.

http://news.com.com/2100-1011_3-5910669.html

Organizations within these fields can tap IBM's patents for
development and use within certain open-software standards for Web
services, electronic forms and open document formats. The effort
expands IBM's previous moves to open a portion of its patent pool to
the open-source community.

"Many industries are transforming, using open software standards to
create a powerful platform for innovation and industry growth. Our
initiative can help do the same for the worldwide health care
industry," Neil de Crescenzo, IBM global health care vice president,
said in a statement.

IBM's patents could be used to help standardize electronic health-
record networks, the company said. In emergency rooms, for example,
IBM patents could help create technology to speed the prioritization
and authorization process in requesting patient information via Web
services applications.

Big Blue is also giving free access to patents for help in developing
standards-based applications in the education arena. For example,
IBM's patents could be applied toward technology that lets students
living in remote areas access teachers, lesson plans and other
resources.

IBM has roughly 40,000 patents worldwide, 10,000 of which are
software related. And IBM has historically held the lead among tech
companies in the number of patents won on an annual basis.

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Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

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